The radio opaque container for communication devices upon a vehicle generally relates to cellular phone containers and more specifically to a container that locks when a vehicle moves. The present invention prevents inbound and outbound radio transmissions from a device placed in the container thus eliminating a distraction to a vehicle operator.
In the last thirty years, portable electronic devices have proliferated from their humble origins. Early portable telephones descended from military field phones and had a bulky shape commonly called a brick. Early portable phones had a telescoping antenna that extended from one end and sometimes required two hands to hold it near a person's mouth and ear. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, mobile subscriber radio telephones developed and portable telephones became bag phones, car phones, and cell phones. As portable electronic devices evolved, they became smaller and have more features.
Cell phones have become ubiquitous and ever present while becoming sleeker, slimmer, smoother, and smaller. The small size of cell phones allows them to fit readily into pockets, purses, bags, and other containers. Cell phones and their related equipment of personal digital assistants, or PDA, such as the popular Blackberry® and Bluetooth®, have made their way into vehicles of all description upon the land, the sea, and soon the air. Motorists have become familiar with other drivers distracted while using a cell phone while driving. Though hands free speakers and microphones exist, drivers remain reluctant to use them. Besides transmission of voice, cell phones and PDAs allow sending and receiving of text messages. The text messages comprise letter and numbers sent digitally and often when voice transmission has become difficult. Text messages though come from people entering the letters and numbers using the small keys of a cell phone, the slightly larger keys of a PDA, or even a thumbwheel. Entering text messages occupies at least one hand for the skillful and two hands for the lesser skilled users. Further, cell phones and PDAs have entered the cabs of various transportation vehicles including trucks and trains.
In a well publicized incident, a train engineer sent and received text messages from the cab of a train seconds before the train collided with vehicles in the vicinity of a railroad crossing. Though the text messages came from the engineer's own communications device, the transmission of text messages distracted the engineer, contributing to a train wreck with loss of life.